Re-Used Props - Furniture
by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
TablesChairsLampsOther Furniture
Many props and pieces of decoration in Star Trek were reused, with or without modifications, to represent items of another civilization. Here are quite a few examples of furniture. Please take the following statements with a grain of salt. There is no need to seek for explanations, such as for why Riker is sitting in the same chair as a Klingon commander some 100 years earlier.
Separate articles list many more lamps and chairs in Star Trek productions.
Tables
Tapered table
The table on the Eymorg planet in TOS: "Spock's Brain" was turned into a couch for TOS: "The Empath". Curiously the latter, together with the red seat cushion, looks like a supersized version of the agonizers from TOS: "Mirror, Mirror".
L-shaped desk
In Picard's quarters aboard the Stargazer we can see a desk that originally appeared in Kirk's quarters in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". Only a small portion of the desk (featuring the small monitor) was ever seen in the films, however. Much more of it is visible in the TNG episode. When Kirk's quarters set was modified before "Datalore" to become Data's quarters, the desk was taken out of the wall niche and put in the center of one wall of Data's quarters, where it would remain until the end of the series. The desk later appeared in "Distant Origin" as a Voth medical console/table.
Desk with serrated edges
Groppler Zorn's desk on Deneb IV with the characteristic irregularly shaped edge can be seen in two more TNG episodes. In "Haven" (where only the top portion is visible) it belongs to Valeda Innis, in "Gambit II" to Arctus Baran.
Curved desk
Sunad's desk aboard the bridge of the Zalkonian ship in TNG: "Transfigurations" was originally created for the courtroom in TNG: "The Measure of a Man".
Massive oval table
The large table in the Romulan wardroom in TNG: "Face of the Enemy" was originally created for the J'naii council chambers seen in TNG: "The Outcast".
Couch table with holes
A very odd curved table with holes (like a warped grating) can be seen in Deep Space 9 guest quarters in DS9: "Destiny" and in Iliana's room on Cardassia in DS9: "Second Skin".
Chairs
Original Enterprise chair
The classic chairs on the bridge and in many other rooms of the original Enterprise are so-called Tulip Chairs of the types Burke 115 and Burke 116 (the latter has an additional armrest) and were modified with higher backrests. Both chairs can be seen on the USS Tsiolkovsky in TNG: "The Naked Now". The first type also appears on the Atlec ship in TNG: "The Outrageous Okona".
Although everything else about the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds is heavily re-imagined, the bridge chairs are much the same.
Lounge chair with V-shaped base
In real life, this is the Chromcraft Sculpta Unicorn. The chair appeared in two TOS episodes, on Deep Space K-7 in "The Trouble with Tribbles" and on Sigma Draconis in "Spock's Brain".
It took 50 years for these chairs to appear again in Star Trek. We can see them, now in white, in the Burnhams's lab in DIS: "Perpetual Infinity".
Chair with high backrest
The chairs with the high backrest were built from Hunsaker Big Boy racing seats and were first seen in "Star Trek I" on the bridge of the Klingon battlecruiser. They also appeared in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" in the Old City Station transporter room where Uhura worked with "Mr. Adventure". We can see the same chairs in crew quarters in the first season of TNG.
Rounded plastic stool
The Rocchetto Stool was designed by brothers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Kartell in the 1960's. It can be seen in the Starfleet Headquarters lounge, in the engineering of the Enterprise-D, on a Gatherer ship and on a Ferengi Marauder. It is possible that Wesley's stool in "Where No One Has Gone Before" was extended with a custom-made tube.
Stone stool
The carved stone stools are seen in TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint" and again only two episodes later in TNG: "Code of Honor" in Lutan's throne room. They also appear on Aldea in TNG: "When the Bough Breaks", albeit in brown instead of white.
Tapered stool
Tapered stools with an inverted "U" base appear on Deneb IV in TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint" and on Ligon II in "Code of Honor", here along with the above stone stools. They are later seen on the Edo homeworld in "Justice" and on Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks".
Wooden chair with curved backrest
In real life, the Willow chair was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904. We can see this design on Ligon II, on Angosia III and, more than 200 earlier, on Tarquin's planet.
Massive bench
The same type of a clunky bench (only in different colors) can be seen on the Edo planet, on Angel I and on Aldea.
Stone bench
Another type of bench appears on the Edo planet and on the Ferengi Marauder in TNG: "Ménage à Troi".
Ball chair
The extremely odd chair in Worf's quarters by the entrance previously appeared on the Tarellian plague ship in TNG: "Haven" where it really serves as a (command) chair. In the real world, the chair was designed by Peter Opsvik in the 1980s with the goal "to demolish the stereotypical ideal of the proper sitting posture". The same chair also appeared in the "Friends" episode "The One That Could Have Been" (set in an alternate timeline).
White padded chair
The typical 1980's chair in Karnas's office on Mordan IV in TNG: "Too Short a Season" also appears in Accolan and Leda's house on Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks" in different colors.
Angular captain's chair
There used to be one standard bridge chair that could be seen on several alien ships in TNG. It originally appeared on the Klingon Bird-of-Prey "Bounty" in "Star Trek: The Voyage Home" and was built around a Recaro C car seat with angular add-ons.
Gray swivel chair
A type of chair with a unique "tech" design can be seen on the bridge of the Hathaway in TNG: "Peak Performance" and later appears on the bridge of the ancient Promellian battlecruiser in TNG: "Booby Trap".
The chair dates back at least to the Buck Rogers episode "Shgoratchx", here still without the padding. It later appeared in an advert for a game named "Hydrosub: 2021", released in 1987, and then in an ad for the Atari Jaguar in 1994.
Chair with arched backrest
A chair with a characteristic rounded backrest could first be seen in the Ferengi shuttle in TNG: "The Price". It then appeared as K'mpec's chair in TNG: "Sins of the Father", in the (illusionary) Romulan holoprogram from TNG: "Future Imperfect" and as the command chair of the Ktarian ship in TNG: "The Game". It could be seen on a Romulan ship again in TNG: "Face of the Enemy". The Romulans and the Ktarians are using the same viewscreen as well.
Rounded lounge chair
The typical chairs in Counselor Troi's office on the Enterprise-D also appear more than two centuries earlier on a Vissian ship. In real life, this is the Artifort F549 Tulip Midi.
Work chair with narrow adjustable backrest
This may be the most often re-used piece of furniture in Trek. We can see it in the following places: Enterprise-D science lab, Jovis shuttlebay, Enterprise-A bridge, Enterprise-B bridge, Enterprise-D medical lab, Baran's bridge, USS Pasteur bridge, USS Prometheus bridge, USS Prometheus dining room, USS Raven bridge, "USS Dauntless" bridge, Varro ship, ECS Horizon bridge, Kumari ready room. In real life, this is the Ergoform Workchair, which appears to have been available for a rather short period from 1989 to 1992.
Curiously, when his cover is blown and Arturis pulls the lever to convert the bridge of the "USS Dauntless" to the alien version in VOY: "Hope and Fear", the Ergoform bridge chair morphs to the equally well-known HÅG Capisco chair, as it appears in many Starfleet sets.
Wooden chair with very high backrest
This chair appears on Ventax II as well as on Tarquin's planet, some 200 years earlier. In real life, the Argyle chair was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1897 and is still produced today.
Chair with riveted aluminum seat
Designed by Philippe Starck for Driade in 1987, we can see the Romantica Chair on Star Trek in five different places: in the Sikla Medical Facility on Malcor III, in Dr. Soong's lab, on the Taresian homeworld, in the Krenim weapon ship crew lounge and Colonel Grat's office on the Tandaran homeworld.
Chair with elliptical backrest segments
The Corona Chair was designed by Poul Volther in 1964. In Star Trek, the design appeared in the Sikla Medical Facility on Malcor III as well as (in large numbers) in the building of the Stardust City Reproductive Health Services.
Bench with tapered base
Benches like on the J'naii homeworld in TNG: "The Outcast" are also seen in the genome colony on Moab IV in "The Masterpiece Society".
Chair with irregularly shaped backrest
A decorative chair can be spotted on Kataan in the village of Ressik in "The Inner Light". The same type is used in the Romulan wardroom in TNG: "Face of the Enemy". The chairs were repainted to appear again on Dorvan V in "Journey's End".
Conference chair with rounded backrest
The chairs in the aft section of Starfleet runabouts (only seen in TNG: "Timescape") are the same as in Voyager's briefing room. The chair model (HÅG Signét 7700 in real life) with the same color as on Voyager can also be seen on Ronara Prime and on Zobral's planet, more than 200 years earlier.
Ferengi furniture
In DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?", Quark has a couch with characteristic padding in his living room. The same piece of furniture previously appeared in Enina Tandro's house in DS9: "Dax".
More furniture of the same style can be seen in Quark's quarters e.g. in DS9: "Melora" and "Body Parts", but also in Baran's ready room in TNG: "Gambit II".
On some occasions, we can see other Ferengi furniture with asymmetrical or exaggerated padding, such as the chair in Ishka's living room in DS9: "Family Business".
This chair appears in animated form in LOW: "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place".
Another Ferengi chair appears in DS9: "Profit and Lace" (when Rom demonstrates how to behave like a female), but also in Dr. Ren's living room in VOY: "Ex Post Facto". All this unusual furniture was rented from the company Modern Props, which is out of business by now.
Voyager captain's chair
Janeway's captain's chair reappears on the bridge of Shran's ship in Star Trek Enterprise. The chairs from Voyager's bridge can also be seen on the Valdore in "Star Trek Nemesis".
Conference chair with angular backrest
The type of chairs from the Enterprise-E observation lounge (HÅG Signét 8400 in real life) reappears on Vulcan in the 22nd century. Only the color is different.
Chair with tiny backrest
This cute little chair was designed by Luca and Paolo Giacomuzzi in the 1980's. It appears in a Starfleet office but also in the Xindi Council, some 200 years earlier.
Chair with heart-shaped wooden backrest
This dining chair was designed by Ron Arad for Driade in 1994. The first appearance in Star Trek is on Risa in DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin". After that, we can also see the design no less than four times on Voyager: in the Doctor's holographic family home in "Real Life", on Kyana Prime in "Year of Hell II", in the Species 8472 simulation of Starfleet Headquarters in "In the Flesh" and on the Varro ship in "The Disease".
Bar stool
The same commercially available Bombo stool (in different colors) can be seen in many episodes, in many corners of the galaxy. The screen caps show just a selection!
Terraced sofa
This characteristic sofa from Sneed's place on M'Ttalas Prime in PIC: "Disengage" reappears, newly upholstered, some 800 years later in the Federation Headquarters in DIS: "Jinaal". In real life, it is available from de Sede, Switzerland.
Lamps
"Traffic lights" lamp
Designed by Malcolm Leland for Architectural Pottery, ca. 1951, this object comes without built-in lighting, and is supposed to hold candles in the alcoves. It was modified for its appearance on the Fesarius in TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver" and later appeared without illumination in McCoy's sickbay.
Colorful lantern
The same lantern with its characteristic colorful glass panes can be seen on two different planets in TOS, namely Argelius and Sigma Draconis VI.
Angular sconce
The same wall lamps as in Ten Forward can be found on the seclusive planet Aldea. This is the Arno Sconce, designed by Ron Rezek some time in the 1980's.
Rougier lamp 1
This must be the best-selling lamp series of our galaxy! All of the four types of lamps are composed of several single tubes. In the real world they were all designed by the Canadian company Rougier around 1970. More about these lamps at Object <> Plastic.
Type 1 can be seen on Angel I in the TNG episode of the same name, as a Cardassian lamp in DS9: "The Wire", as well as on Risa in DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin".
Rougier lamp 2
The second type of lamps appears on Ligon II in TNG: "Code of Honor", on Angel I and also on the Founders' planet in DS9: "The Search, Part II". But it is so popular that it found its way even into other universes like the one of Babylon 5.
Rougier lamp 3
The third type can be seen as soon as in "Star Trek III" in the bar scene. This is the earliest known appearance of any of the lamp types, and it indicates that it must have been in the Art Department's storage for a long time. Further appearances are on Ligon II and on Angel I.
Rougier lamp 4
No surprise: The fourth lamp shows up on Angel I too, as well as on Ligon II and on the Founders' homeworld. On an unrelated note, the lamp is also visible in "Scarface".
Lamp post
Here is a street lamp design that appears to be popular among human colonies such as Tau Cygna V and Moab IV, but also on Romulus, Rutia IV and Barkon IV and in a remote corner of the galaxy on the "Polaric Energy Planet". The cylindrical upper part was later replaced with a bowl-shaped piece and finally with a conical lamp shade.
Tau Cygna V also features wall lamps of the same style. A lamp post with a similar but not quite the same design can be seen on Nimbus III in "Star Trek: The Final Frontier".
Wall lamp with many arms
This decorative wall or ceiling lamp appeared at Starfleet Command in TNG: "Conspiracy". Many years later, we can see the same design in Dolim's heat lamp room in ENT: "The Council". This is the Pistillo Lamp, designed by Studio Tetrarch in 1970 and produced by Valenti Luce.
Rectangular desk lamp
This lamp was designed by Ron Rezek. It appeared in its original form in the Uxbridges' house in TNG: "Survivors". The device was then heavily modified for the typically Cardassian-built holographic desktop viewer as it appeared in several DS9 episodes. See also the article on Variations of the DS9 Desktop Monitor.
Desktop lamp
The same lamp can be seen on Earth in "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country", 80 years later TNG: "The First Duty", in the Delta Quadrant in VOY: "Ex Post Facto" and "Gravity" (retracted on the latter occasion), as well as some 130 years earlier in the NX-01 project hangar, on the Horizon and on Enterprise.
The lamp appears in a similar form in LOW: "The Stars at Night".
In real life, the lamp "Jazz" was designed by Porsche for Italiana Luce in 1989 and was commercially available. It also appears in the Cyberdyne Building in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" when they're breaking in toward the end.
"Clown-face" lamp
The colorful "clown-face" lamps in Alexana Devos's office in TNG: "The High Ground" appear in a red, a blue and an orange/yellow variety. They can be seen again in season 4 in the Sikla Medical Facility on Malcor III in TNG: "First Contact" and in season 5 in the genome colony on Moab IV in TNG: "The Masterpiece Society".
Colorful light projector
The Rainbow Model A-5040 is a very eccentric and very 1980's-style lamp that was produced by Artup Lighting. It could be seen in Kivas Fajo's collection room as well as in Noonien Soong's lab.
Candleholder
A Ventaxian candleholder from TNG: "Devil's Due" appears in several later episodes. It is seen in DS9: "Sons and Daughters" as a Klingon candleholder and in ENT: "Stigma" as a Vulcan candleholder. It is turned upside down and acts as a stand for a Bajoran orb in DS9: "The Circle".
A similar candleholder appeared as soon as in the TOS episode "The Trouble with Tribbles".
Large ceiling light
Essentially the same large ceiling lamp can be seen on Terok Nor in DS9: "Through the Looking Glass", on the Pralor ship in VOY: "Prototype" and on Annorax's weapon ship in VOY: "Year of Hell I".
Rounded wall lamp
The wall lamps on Banea and in Marayna's control room are identical.
Floor lamp
The same floor lamp with a characteristic red ring around the light source can be seen in three different regions of space in Voyager.
Other Furniture
Metal shelf
The same diamond-shaped shelf made from metal rods can be seen in Kirk's apartment in "Star Trek II", at Farpoint Station in TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", in the crew quarters in TNG: "The Naked Now" and in the Café des Artistes in TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris".
A'dammer cabinet
Different models of A'dammer cabinets with the characteristic rounded top can be seen in "Angel One", "The High Ground", "A Matter of Perspective", "Night Terrors", "The First Duty" and DS9: "Second Sight".
Flower shelf
The same type of flower shelf can be seen in Voyager's airponics bay and on Port Pernaia in ENT: "The Seventh".
See Also
Commercially Available Chairs in Star Trek - off-the-shelf office chairs, lounge chairs or car seats on screen
Commercially Available Lighting in Star Trek - off-the-shelf lamps and light fixtures on screen
Re-Used Props - Decoration - decorative windows, wall art, sculptures
Re-Used Props - Various Objects - musical instruments, tableware and vases
Galleries - Various Objects - art, bottles, containers, holograms, etc.
Credits
Some screen caps from TrekCore. Thanks go to Alexander Baier, Ciarán D, Jan Kockrow, Lin Jingqiu, Marçal, Shawn Havery, Marchel van Leeuwen, D H, Chris Weyer and Michael Minnick for spotting some of the props.
